Magic in the Cellar

There's a reason the Cellar Jazz Club is considered one of the top 100 jazz clubs worldwide...everything in the place comes from the heart. The food, the art, the service, and especially, the music :-)

There was true magic in the Cellar last night. Thanks to old friends for coming out (Jeanine, Laura, Leslie, Marc, Celia, Jeff, Mike, Jen, Leanne, Shelley, Thao...you know who you are...),

and all the new ones we met (not one, but two Michaels, Brock, Shauna, Phil, Valentine, the beautiful women from Frankfurt, and the rest...you know who you are...).

The staff, the food, all fantastic.

The thing is, all of us there, listening and living the music, focused on a single moment, well, there's nothing like it, and that's the unique magic of live music. We're the lucky ones who get that it's something special...

Thanks again, everyone, for an incredible night...the band's floatin' on air and already looking forward to next time.

Ruth

Alain Caron at L&M

Ruth's 2nd favourite.

With 6 strings

Alain Caron at L&M

Ruth's 2nd favourite.

With 6 strings

HipGig

Hi sweetheart. How's your trip going? ... Uh huh.. Oh good.

Oh, everything's just fine here at home.

Yes, I miss you too.

Say, you know how you always said that two Yamaha drum kits is enough ... Right ...you remember ? And you know how I love Yamaha drums, right?

And you know how I always say that 'wouldn't it be nice if I could still gig when you have the SUV and I only have the sports car, and my other two drums kits won't fit in the sports car? And sometimes I can't rehearse or gig when that happens? ' 

You know?  ...  How I sometimes say that?

Yes .... Yes I know that I already have two beautiful drumkits.

Yes, sweetheart, you're right, we have nowhere to put another drumkit.

What's that?

Yes, I know its not practical to store two sets of drums in a thousand square foot apartment.

Mmmm-hmmm?

Yes, you are absolutely right.

Oh n-nothing.

No reason. Just  ..  you know .... Making coversation 'n stuff.

I love you too.

See you tomorrow.

4 vs 10

So, when Paul unfortunately had to sub out a gig, we were lucky to have Lisa join us on bass.

 

Now, if you'll remember, Paul has a four-string bass.  A very very nice one.  But despite theimage jiggery-pokery in that earlier posting, it's total string quotient is Four (4).   If you look at a five-string bass.  Or just, imagine one.  In your head.  

 

Then subtract one string...and... You get Paul's bass.  

 

One less.

 

Minus one. 

 

So back to Lisa, who:

 - arrived with a 5-string bass. (Nice, Lisa!)

 - arrived with a 5 -string stand-up bass (Whoa!)

 - asked for more lead vocals in her monitor (I beg your pardon?)

 

and..

 

(wait for it)

 

 - asked for more guitar in her monitor.

 

Wait. wait. wait.  Was that a typo?

 

No.

 

No, it wasn't.

 

Lisa. Asked. For. More. Guitar. In. Her. Monitor.

 

Ergo: Lisa knows which side her her bread is buttered. 

 

 

Un Petit Fromage

So at the otherwise stellar Joey DeFrancesco concert at the beloved Cellar Jazz Club, Paul decides he doesn't want a desert from the menu, so asks for some cheese instead.

No, you have to realize that dinners at the Cellar are to be anticipated and consumed with great relish. The food is truly outstanding by any measure. Given that the prix fix menu is typically under $30, it is a bargain rarely matched, even without great jazz happening in front of your very eyes.

And then ... Inexplicably .... this.

Nectar of the Gods

Paul has escalated us from the sublime (www.arrogantbastard.com) to the utterly ridiculous with this succulent ale from the shores of Howe Sound.

^
|||
Ante

Co-conspirator or witless chucklehead?

Chucklehead. Now that is a great word--just feels good rolling off the tongue.

Unfortunately, hoto, I can't speak to that issue for you. The interpretation really lies in your own sense of worth. Or perhaps, guilt.

I can, however, speak to the fairly raised question of the timing of Sheldon's public emergence from the gutter. I think it traces back to Gentle Paul, and Gentle Mike, and Gentle Ken, and all those who preceded you in the band. We lived in a world of subtle nuance, and my innocence reigned unchecked. Enter, hoto, regaling us with detailed accounts of kidney stones, treatments, and bloody results on breaks at our very first gig. I believe Sheldon discovered a kindred spirit that night and the whole safety-in-numbers thing burst the dam. Perhaps that puts you more in the catalyst camp. I'm not sure.

Of this, however, I am sure. Subtle nuance has not characteristically been your style, and I think I speak for us all when I say: learn? ok. change? please, no!

virtual love and hugs all around, except to Gentle Paul whom we know is not so comfortable with that sort of thing...

r.

Innocence Lost

Ah, Ruth; Desperately trying to hang on to the vestiges of her childlike innocence, surrounded by brains saturated with an almost encyclopedic knowledge of all things prurient.

I would agree that her ignorance of alternative, deviant, and downright abhorrent lifesyles has been reduced dramatically in the past few years.  What I find interesting is that Ruth and Sheldon were musical partners for many many years, during which Sheldon seems to have shared nary a whit of his extensive understanding of these matters.  And yet when I show up, the dam seems to have burst, and Sheldon now appears to consider band rehearsals to be an outlet for his aberrant wit.

(sigh)

Therein lies the rub.  Am I co-defendant or catalyst?   Co-conspirator or witless chucklehead?  I may never know …   It is a zero-sum, chicken:egg game.

When it comes down to it really, to coin a blues phrase,  "...'taint no thang, I s'pose."

And I for one welcome Ruth's newfound understanding of the broader world around her.  

However, in deference to Gentle Paul, I also am beginning to understand the value of subtlety and nuance.

Hey!  I've learned something in this band.

--- H

One voice, strangely absent...

Where the heck is Sheldon's voice in all this? Mr. Smart-Crack-About-Everyone, silent! Well, we watched part of the new Family Guy series this weekend after spending EVERY LIVING MOMENT OF THE LAST 3 DAYS moving Sheldon and his cats. There's this scene...cow, branding iron, red ball, strap. Of course, being the band innocent, the joke was lost on me. Giz. Anyway, Sheldon educated me once again with his comment, "Oh, that's a typical S&M thing..." Typical?? How does he know "typical"??? The implication here is that he can tell typical from non-typical. It implies discerning knowledge of the subject. What the heck??? So, of course, I asked how exactly he knew. His reply? Blushing that deep red we all know and love, he smiled and said, "Ask Hoto, he'll tell you the same thing." Hmmmm.

You know I got skills

C'mon Paul … I would have made you one.  You know I'm handy in the woodshop.

Here's one I made earlier.

<<...>>

… Hoto

Well I hope this makes you all happy! I totally ruined any "vintage" value in my beautiful and rare 1980 Musicman Cutlass 1... Got her up on the work bench last night, and grafted that bleedin' extra string that you all seem to be so keen on. Go on, count them you buggers! 5...OK!!! I hope you're satisfied.
Back to work now.
Paul

Look how upset he is!

To the thief who stole the fifth string from Paul's bass, the Bradley McGillivray band would like to extend complete amnesty in the event of it's return, no questions asked, all in the hopes that Paul here, obviously embittered and on the verge of tears, can have his mojo back.

Leanne…have you seen it anywhere … the Fifth String that should be on Paul's bass?

Have you ever seen him so, beside himself?

Just one more tiny, itty bitty string. 

Fifth string anyone? 

Poor P. <<...>>

---regards,  Hoto

Where the rhythm section does some of their best work

Where the REAL work gets done in this band

Self Portrait

Indulging ourselves at a recent gig.

The essence of ho-to

Nice photo hoto--thanks for that. Oh, look what I found! I believe it was taken on the same road trip. I think it really captures your stylistic expression and leadership in the rhythm section.

Back atcha baby...

Possibly my favourite picture of Ruth and Sheldon

As leaders of this fine organization, I think this captures the razor sharp focus with which they lead this band, and the unambiguous direction in which they head.

<<...>>

Now THAT was easy

You see, leaving things like blogging up to Sheldon and Ruth is like, well, leaving things like Sunday School singalongs up to me: It just ain't gonna get done right.

So, here we are.  A simple blog.  Simple to post to and simple for the band to maintain.

What are we going to use this for?  … ooh, I don't know.

Slagging each other, I hope.

Smooches and goodnight.

Hoto